LOCKDOWN IMPACT: ONLY 800K TRAVEL BY LOCALS DAILY

MUMBAI: After the Maharashtra government imposed strict lockdown measures under the Break The Chain campaign on April 14, the number of passengers travelling by local trains have significantly reduced. On an average, 800,000 passengers are travelling daily by local trains on Central and Western Railway lines.

Nearly 500,000 passengers travel by local trains on Central Railway (CR) and 300,000 passengers travel by local trains on the Western Railway (WR) currently.

Before the lockdown, 3.8 million passengers travelled by local trains on Central and Western Railway, with two million travelling by trains on CR and 1.8 million by trains on the WR.

“We are not allowing any unauthorised passenger enter the station premises. There are limited entry and exit points to railway stations, and strict checking of identity cards and medical documents of passengers are being done at the entrance of the railway stations.” said a senior railway official.

Under the Break The Chain guidelines, only citizens working in essential services, travelling for medical purposes and people travelling to and from vaccination centres are permitted to commute by local trains.

Meanwhile, autorickshaws are allowed to have two passengers only, excluding the driver; taxis are allowed to operate with 50% of vehicle capacity, while Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses are not allowed to ferry any standees.